A review on CRISPR-Cas9 and its role in cancer immunotherapy

• Main Authors: Rashi A. Bhavsar, Vishwa Maharajan, Evan Joseph, Salai S. Sumukhi, Akshatha Banadka, Kokila Srinivasa
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: TMKarpinski Publisher, Tomasz M. Karpiński 2021-09-01
• Series: European Journal of Biological Research
• Subjects: CRISPR-Cas9; Genome; Cancer; Genetically-modified T-cells
• Online Access: http://www.journals.tmkarpinski.com/index.php/ejbr/article/view/472

Since the discovery of CRISPR, the field of Molecular Genetics has revolutionized and has opened so many different doors to improve molecular techniques and interpret the early microbial life forms. The diversity found within the CRISPR-Cas systems has led to its application in various fields like diagnostics, medicine and also has given rise to an interesting field of genome engineering. The Nobel Prize in Chemistry was awarded to Emanuelle Charpentier and Jennifer Doudna for their work on CRISPR-Cas9 and its application as a genome engineering tool. Scientists have been using the CRISPR-Cas9 system to edit genomes and cure various genetic diseases associated with mutations in the human genome. One such application is the use of CRISPR-Cas9 in cancer immunotherapy. The entire world has been known to be affected by the rapidly dividing cellular disease of cancer. Since cancer cells have different morphology, they are attacked by our immune system. Cancer cells possess the ability to camouflage themselves and avoid these immune responses and thereby proliferate and metastasize to a much greater extent. Scientists have been able to genetically engineer T-cells with the help of CRISPR-Cas9 genome editing tool which has shown promising results in the course of immunotherapy. On the 4th of June 2021, in India, the first patient underwent CAR-T Cell therapy setting a milestone for future treatments. In this review, we aim to evaluate the potential and diversity of the profound CRISPR-Cas systems and the application of CRISPR-Cas9 in immunotherapy for refractory cancer. DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.5527223